I have the fever for a German 98K. I looked at Mitchell's Mausers website. The bolts are shiny and the few 98K I have seen have the blued bolt. Which one is correct? I have read where people think Mitchell's are fake. I bought a Yugo M48 from the eight years ago and I think it is the real deal. Everyone opinion is appreciated.

Mitchells mausers refurbishes rifles, good shooters but pricey. As far as I know bolts were blued, that is how I've known the Kar98. I've seen a handful of period rifles with chromed bolts but they were parade rifles.

__________________
When I die better bury me deep, two .45s layin' at my feet,
An M16 across my chest, tell Chesty Puller I did my best

How do they refurbish them? Have the value or authenticity been compromised? Do they forge Nazi symbols on them? Here is a link to the site. They show the chrome looking bolt. Another pic. on their site shows a blued bolt. If it is a true K98 rifle I dont mind paying a little extra.

Many 98 Mausers have bolts left "in the white" (not chromed, just bare steel), while others had them blued. My S37 98K has a bolt that might have been blued, but the finish now is gray and spotted (rifle is not in real good shape, finishwise). My Vz24 (fine shape) has a bolt in the white, my Yugo M48 (like new) has a plum color blueing on the bolt body.

Nearly all of the Mausers I have onwed, in original trim or sporterized have had bolt bodies in the white, usually with blued cocking pieces and bolt handles, but some have been all in the white, and some all blued.

__________________
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

98k bolts should be blued or parked. My Yugo refurb has a blue bolt, but the extractor is in the white.
The only Mitchell Mauser I would be at all interested in is the short "tanker" model. While short barreled Mausers did exist in history, the name "tanker" used by Mitchell reflects their fantasy world, as does the rest of their products.

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I disagree. There are many, many WWII photos which clearly show 98k Mausers with bright bolt bodies, not just bright bolt handles from wear.
I can't begin to tell you what percentage were, or "should have been" blued, but I can tell you that many were not.

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All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

OTOH there were numerous M98 model mausers
with bright bolt. But the rifle in question here
is the K98.

good shooting, dxr

P.S. I would steer clear of Mitchell's K98 rifles. They
have been "spun" and the bright condition of the
bolt is only one thing that they've done to these
guns. I second the recommendation to pick up a
nice Yugo K98. Or a nice Russian refurb, which is
what these Mitchell guns where before they got a
hold of them and spun them in their t*rd polishing
factory. They cannot be looked at as "restorations"
because they have been altered to an image that
never existed historically. Not a good investment.

A few Mitchell Mausers products are passably OK, but no one well deny the company is snarky and way over priced.

The best deal on a German K98 I see is the Yugo MOD98/48. These post war rearsenaled rifles retain many of the original German markings under the furniture. The Serbs did a very nice job on these, far superior to the Russian capture MOD98's, and less money to boot.

I picked this up off Gunbroker for under $200, pristine barrel and metal, near unissued condition.

My Yugo M48a is a mitchell's that I paid too much for (used market), but it is in pristine shape, and shoots great, and I would not not give it up. It's a collector grade with all the goodies and cert of authenticity (whatever that means) and a dandy shooter. I am amazed at how well these old guns shoot. All of them; my M24/47(CAI) my M93 Spanish Oviedo 1931 and my German K98 (duv-41), they all group really well for their age, and the K98 has such a dark bore you can barely see the rifling, but still shoots 3"-5" iron sights @100 yds, that's pretty good concidering I can barely see that far(haha).

I believe (but could be wrong) that the Yugo M48 mauser has a slightly shorter action/bolt that makes it incompatible with earlier K98s. I have never had one in my hands, so feedback appreciated. Please let me know if I'm harboring internet rumors in my house.

I have had 2 K98s and a Spanish M43 and loved them all. I have a friend who had a Yugo M48 and loved it (after he got the cosmoline off). I think half of his happiness was being able to gloat about getting a brand new 8mm rifle for $100 (which I completely understand).

yes, they are shorter by a 1/4" I believe. I have an M24/47, an M48a and a German98k. Both the Yugo's are shorter. Never took a tape to them, but Boyd's gunstocks shows a difference when ordering a stock, and the floor plates on the yugo's are interchangable but not the german. and yes the bolt on the german is too long for the yugo's.

The Yugo Model 24 was purchased from FN in Belgium, along with the machines and tooling to make it, later used to make the Model 48. The FN Model 24 action is based on an early version of the Model 98, and is shorter than the "standard" German Mauser and Czech Model 24 (Vz-24).

That makes a difference when ordering some types of scope bases, bolts or bolt parts, magazine followers and floor plates, etc. It also makes it very difficult to convert the short action to a caliber like .30-'06. I am sure someone has done it, but there is no room to play with.

It should be pointed out that the shorter Yugo receiver makes no difference in how the gun shoots or how it will handle the original 8x57 cartridge. It's only a factor if you intend to modify the rifle.

If you want to build a sporter, IMHO the best way to go about it is to purchase a "pre-Bubba'd" 98k at your local gun show for ~$150, rather than hacking up one of the few remaining all-original Mausers.

__________________
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